UrbanReviewSTLhttp://www.urbanreviewstl.com
St. Louis planning, politics, & policy. Since Oct 2004Sun, 02 Aug 2015 13:00:53 +0000en-UShourly1Sunday Poll: What Should Happen When The Small Bar Smoking Ban Exemption Expires In January?http://www.urbanreviewstl.com/2015/08/sunday-poll-what-should-happen-when-the-small-bar-smoking-ban-exemption-expires-in-january/
http://www.urbanreviewstl.com/2015/08/sunday-poll-what-should-happen-when-the-small-bar-smoking-ban-exemption-expires-in-january/#commentsSun, 02 Aug 2015 13:00:53 +0000http://www.urbanreviewstl.com/?p=39570On January 2, 2016 the 5-year smoking ban exemption some small bars have claimed will expire. Now that the exemptions are nearing their expiration date some want to amend the 2009 law.

Shall the following be adopted: Proposition to issue bonds of the City of St. Louis, Missouri in an amount not to exceed One Hundred Eighty Million Dollars ($180,000,000) for the purpose of funding a portion of the cost of acquiring certain real property for, and purchasing, replacing, improving, and maintaining the buildings, vehicles, and equipment of, the City, the St. Louis Police Department, Fire Department, and Emergency Medical Services, and other City departments and for maintaining the safety and security of the jails and improving public safety; for funding a portion of the costs of reconstructing, repairing and improving streets, bridges, and sidewalks; for funding a portion of the costs of infrastructure development and of demolition and abatement of various abandoned or condemned buildings owned by or under the control of the City of St. Louis or its related agencies; for funding a portion of the cost of city owned building stabilization and preservation; for funding a portion of the costs of home repair programs; for funding ward capital improvements; for funding a portion of the cost of paying for economic development and site development infrastructure, and for paying incidental costs of such work and of issuing the Bonds.

The City wants to borrow $180 million to make significant repairs, improvements, and reconstruction, equipment upgrades in addition to upgrades of public safety equipment, vehicles, condemned and abandoned property demolition and abatement, and numerous other projects. Specific projects include municipal court improvements, replacement of fire trucks, a secure and centralized 911 center, corrections department updates, city building improvements, and home repair programs. In addition the city’s wards would get $10 million for aldermen to share and spread throughout the city’s neighborhoods.

The $180 million bond would be funded through a property tax increase. For example, a homeowner with a property tax bill based on $80,000 (home and vehicle) will pay approximately $28 more in annual property tax. Someone with a current property tax bill based on $140,000 would pay an additional $50 each year. A property tax bill based on $275,000 would have a $97 annual increase. The City last passed a general obligation bond in 1999.

Proponents say that it is time to reinvest in St. Louis. These improvements are long overdue and much needed to continue delivery of critical services, maintain the City’s financial health, and save millions of dollars in annual maintenance. They also say that repairs are particularly needed around the old Pruitt-Igo housing complex in north St. Louis since the City wants to have that site approved by the federal government for the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency’s Western headquarters.

Opponents say added ward money, home repairs and demolition programs, work against the central purpose of the bond issue, which is to repair the city’s roads, streets and bridges and to upgrade equipment for police and firefighter equipment.

I voted absentee in favor — I think the positives outweigh the negatives.

— Steve Patterson

]]>http://www.urbanreviewstl.com/2015/07/proposition-1-only-item-on-tuesdays-ballot/feed/1Both Styles of New Parking Payment on Same Blockhttp://www.urbanreviewstl.com/2015/07/both-styles-of-new-parking-payment-on-same-block/
http://www.urbanreviewstl.com/2015/07/both-styles-of-new-parking-payment-on-same-block/#commentsThu, 30 Jul 2015 10:45:59 +0000http://www.urbanreviewstl.com/?p=39566New parking meters are pretty much installed throughout greater downtown St. Louis. These include multi-space pay stations and updated single-space meters. I’ve yet to determine how it was decided which type would go on which blocks. In the 7 blocks I travel to reach the store both types are used.

Last week, looking at the Chestnut bike lane, I noticed in the 1000 block of Locust each side of the street is different from the other.

1000 block of Chestnut: On the North side single space meters, other side multi-space pay stations (one circled in red)

I might map out block by block to see if a logical pattern emerges…or I’ll enquire. It just seems like downtown visitors might be confused by two different physical ways to pay for on-street parking. I still prefer the app.

— Steve Patterson

]]>http://www.urbanreviewstl.com/2015/07/both-styles-of-new-parking-payment-on-same-block/feed/0Readers on Qualifications for Disabilityhttp://www.urbanreviewstl.com/2015/07/readers-on-qualifications-for-disability/
http://www.urbanreviewstl.com/2015/07/readers-on-qualifications-for-disability/#commentsWed, 29 Jul 2015 10:45:30 +0000http://www.urbanreviewstl.com/?p=39564Sunday was the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disability Act of 1990, so in the Sunday Poll I asked what should qualify as a disability. Before the results, here is information from a national poll: .

Over half also believe speech and language disorders (57%), learning disabilities (54%) and cancer (52%) should qualify, though only minorities of older Americans and Republicans are behind these particular conditions being considered disabilities:

Speech and language disorders: 41% of Matures, 47% of RepublicansLearning disabilities: 44% of Matures, 46% of RepublicansCancer: 48% of Baby Boomers, 41% of Matures, 45% of RepublicansMajorities of Millennials (57%) and Democrats (54%) believe schizophrenia should qualify, while lower percentages of other generations (44% Gen Xers, 41% Baby Boomers, 27% Matures) and political persuasions (37% Republicans, 42% Independents) say the same, bringing the total support for this condition qualifying to 46%.

Three in ten Americans believe depression (29%) should qualify, while just over two in ten say the same of migraine headaches (22%), 17% say the same of morbid obesity and 16% believe anorexia or bulimia should qualify. One in ten feel that drug addiction (10%) or alcoholism (9%) should qualify, while 5% say the same of compulsive gambling.

The free online poll software I use here doesn’t let me get into such detail. When reading the results below keep in mind people could select 1-16 answers. I don’t know how many people voted — my guess is 22. If so that would mean 100% think vision loss is a qualifier for disability. I’ve added a percentage in {0%} to indicate the relative support.

Q: Which of the following do you think should qualify as a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act? (check all that apply)

The key is what makes it so you can’t do your current job, or another job. I’m not in a position to tell someone who is, say clinically depressed, they should be able to work. Besides, I’m too busy worrying about a potential 19% cut in 2016.

— Steve Patterson

]]>http://www.urbanreviewstl.com/2015/07/readers-on-qualifications-for-disability/feed/2Becoming An Independent Uber Driverhttp://www.urbanreviewstl.com/2015/07/becoming-an-independent-uber-driver/
http://www.urbanreviewstl.com/2015/07/becoming-an-independent-uber-driver/#commentsTue, 28 Jul 2015 10:45:02 +0000http://www.urbanreviewstl.com/?p=39635I have no doubt that Uber will soon be operating in St. Louis, as the Post-Dispatch explains, they’ve never lost against local regulations designed to protect the established taxi industry. But, we must consider the ramifications:

Uber operates mainly in big cities like San Francisco and New York, chock full of liberals. Liberals have been caught up in the cult-like enthusiasm for Uber, demanding it in communities where it wasn’t offered and viewing its absence as evidence that their cities didn’t measure up on the tech-savvy cool-meter.

Getting Uber may offer immediate gratification. But communities must understand what it portends, which is more trouble for the middle class. An Uber driver may average about $16 an hour in pay, after deducting the cost of insurance and gas and mileage on their cars. But he probably doesn’t work full time for Uber nor receive benefits. He’s probably going to need another job or two to make ends meet. This doesn’t sound much like progress.

Manu of you may be ready to sign up as Uber drivers. Just like taxicab drivers, Uber considers its drivers to be “independent contractors”, not employees. What does this mean to you?

People such as doctors, dentists, veterinarians, lawyers, accountants, contractors, subcontractors, public stenographers, or auctioneers who are in an independent trade, business, or profession in which they offer their services to the general public are generally independent contractors. However, whether these people are independent contractors or employees depends on the facts in each case. The general rule is that an individual is an independent contractor if the payer has the right to control or direct only the result of the work and not what will be done and how it will be done. The earnings of a person who is working as an independent contractor are subject to Self-Employment Tax.

The first thing you should wonder about is the “self-employement tax” mentioned above:

Self-employment tax is a tax consisting of Social Security and Medicare taxes primarily for individuals who work for themselves. It is similar to the Social Security and Medicare taxes withheld from the pay of most wage earners.

You figure self-employment tax (SE tax) yourself using Schedule SE (Form 1040). Social Security and Medicare taxes of most wage earners are figured by their employers. Also you can deduct the employer-equivalent portion of your SE tax in figuring your adjusted gross income. Wage earners cannot deduct Social Security and Medicare taxes. (IRS: Self-Employment Tax (Social Security and Medicare Taxes))

Depending upon your situation, this many not be applicable to you. I’m not an accountant, but I’ve been an employee, an employee & independent contractor concurrently, and just an independent contractor. From my own personal experience I can tell you it’s important to know the differences.

Why you ask? If you get paid say $1,000 from Uber, some of that money may need to be set aside to cover taxes you’ll owe on the income. This tax money might even need to be paid monthly or quarterly. Don’t forget about state and local taxes too.

Additional considerations:

You’ll also need a system for keeping track of vehicle expenses (fuel, miles driven, maintenance).

You may need different auto insurance.

If your car is financed, would driving for Uber violate any terms of the finance agreement? Uber’s financing is described as a “risky-bet.”

When you get a job your employer takes care of much of the above concerns. If you decide to drive for Uber, or similar, then you’re starting a new business. Accept that — or do like others have and sue:

As you may have heard, the on-demand car-service juggernaut lost a case early this month before the California Labor Commissioner on whether a driver was an independent contractor or an employee, and thus eligible for expense reimbursement. Uber is appealing that ruling in court, but it already faces a class-action lawsuit over the same issue in federal court in California and similar fights in Floridaand Massachusetts.

These legal battles have actually become pretty common lately for car services and taxi companies, not just Uber. Sometimes the issue is that drivers who clearly are employees (they don’t own the cars, they only drive for one service) are treated as independent contractors by skinflint car-service owners. More often than not, though, it is cases like Uber’s, where drivers own their cars, can drive for other services and can set their own timetables — all attributes of an independent contractor — but are dependent on the service in ways that make them seem not quite independent. (Bloomberg View: Uber and the Not-Quite-Independent Contractor)

The taxicab companies, for their part, are looking like dinosaurs. Our taxicab experiences in Chicago have been much more positive than here.

From Facebook

Time marches on, this industry will look totally different in 5 years time.

— Steve Patterson

]]>http://www.urbanreviewstl.com/2015/07/becoming-an-independent-uber-driver/feed/6Chestnut Street Bike Lane From 20th to 4thhttp://www.urbanreviewstl.com/2015/07/chestnut-street-bike-lane-from-20th-to-4th/
http://www.urbanreviewstl.com/2015/07/chestnut-street-bike-lane-from-20th-to-4th/#commentsMon, 27 Jul 2015 10:45:56 +0000http://www.urbanreviewstl.com/?p=39666Those of you who follow this blog on Twitter & Facebook know I post a few pics of the new protected bike lane last week. I’d read about it in an article on the 18th or 19th:

The city also announced the addition of its first parking-protected bike lane downtown on Chestnut Street between Fourth and 20th streets. It uses parked cars and flexible posts to separate the cycling lane from the driving lane. A striped buffer painted on the street also creates space between open car doors and the bike lane. (Post-Dispatch)

It was a few days before I could get over to Chestnut to see in person, passing by at 15th headed to transit.

On Wednesday July 22 @9;15am I was disappointed to see a long line of cars parked in the bike lane. Traffic Commissioner Deanna Venker told me work wasn’t finished yet.

The following morning, Thursday July 23 @ 11am, I was again headed this direction. This time the poles were in place and it was being respected.

With the bike lane running for 16 blocks, 20th t0 4th, I knew I couldn’t just cross at a single point and expect to understand it. If I wasn’t disabled, biking the mile distance would be the best way to experience it. Friday morning I started at 20th and made my way East to 4th, mostly on the adjacent sidewalk or at crosswalks. Let’s start at 20th:

Looking West we see the I-64 off-ramp. A dashed line would help guide motorists to the left

From the NE corner, looking SW. toward Aloe Plaza & Union Station

A Facebook commenter pointed out many like to load/unload in front of Anthem. If they do now traffic flow will be blocked

It appeared the city plans to paint a crosswalk mid-block, but no curb cuts exist

At 18th Street the bike lane remains protected, though drivers & cyclists still need to worry about right-turning cars or left-turning bikes. The city vacated 19th Street decades ago.

I saw two different cyclists using the new bike lane during the 45 minutes I was next to it

In this block auto parking is on both sides of a single traffic lane, which the city truck had blocked.

At the former 16th Street we see the narrow public walkway, the dashed blue I added shoes that an ADA-conpliant crosswalk is needed here. Click image to see October 2013 post on this subject.

Looking East from 15th toward 14th the day before, the angled parking is now back-in style. Auto traffic now has 2 EB lanes.

View from the sidewalk, also from Thursday, Back-in parking is safer for cyclists than front-in

Friday no cars were parked here, looking West from 14th back toward 15th

Still looking West, now from the other side of 14th, we can see the big jog to the left for both cyclists & motorists .

Looking West from 13th toward 14th

I don’t recall angled parking in front of Soldiers Memorial before

So 20th to 15th is parking-protected, 15th to Tucker (12th) isn’t:

Protected: 5 blocks

Exposed: 3 blocks

As we continue East across Tucker things get more complicated. Also back to a single lane for vehicular traffic.

Diagonal back-in parking continues…briefly

This is probably the single most controversial part of the route, the second half of this block has a conventional exposed bike lane. Hope drivers know to get over to the left.

Looking East toward 11th, not sure why the bike lane isn’t on the right side of these parked cars. I see two possibilities: 1) not enough width, and 2) would create an angle crossing 11th.

At 11th looking back West

If more width was needed to protect the bike lane there’s extra on the north side of the street

Looking East across 11th, if the lane on the prior block were protected the angle here would be greater, but still better than the one a half a block back

The lane resumes being protected by parking East of 11th. Twain is on the right,

Looking back West from 10th

The first block adjacent to Citygarden is protected

The 2nd block, East of 9th, starts off protected — but I found a Ford Focus parked in the bike lane. It had two tickets.

Looking West from 8th we see the bike lane goes around the delivery area. The white truck belongs to workers on the bike lane.

Still looking West, now from the other side of 8th. I’m concerned about vehicles turning right from EB Chestnut onto SB 8th. Will they cut through the delivery area?

The block from 8th to 7th is protected by parked cars. I do anticipate problems with people mot seeing disable;ed parking signs, especially back by Tucker. .

Curb bulbs are great for pedestrians, bad for protected bike lanes. The last 3 blocks are exposed.

Looking West from Broadway (5th), great potential for conflict with right-turning cars.

Looking East from Broadway. Why wasn’t the single row of parking placed to protect the bike lane?

And finally a taxi that sat in the bike lane through 2 cycles of traffic lights before turning left onto NB 4th

So Tucker to 4th the break down is:

Protected: 3.5 blocks

Exposed: 4.5 blocks

Which gives us totals of:

Protected: 8.5 blocks

Exposed: 7.5 blocks

Of the 16 blocks from 20th to 4th, just over half (53.125%) are protected.

The new white stripes look great against the dark black asphalt, but how will this look in a few years when both fade? I’d like to see the bike half block next to the Civil Courts be protected. When Kiener Plaza gets rebuilt hopefully those two blocks can become protected.

— Steve Patterson

]]>http://www.urbanreviewstl.com/2015/07/chestnut-street-bike-lane-from-20th-to-4th/feed/10Sunday Poll: What Should Qualify As A Disability?http://www.urbanreviewstl.com/2015/07/sunday-poll-what-should-qualify-as-a-disability/
http://www.urbanreviewstl.com/2015/07/sunday-poll-what-should-qualify-as-a-disability/#commentsSun, 26 Jul 2015 13:00:09 +0000http://www.urbanreviewstl.com/?p=39558Twenty-five years ago today President George H.W. Bush singed the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. A national poll released Friday showed support for the ADA but disagreement over what should qualify as a disability. For the poll today I want to see how reader’s views compare to the national results.

Select all that apply. There are additional qualifiers not listed — this list matches those from the poll — enabling a comparison. Please vote above and come back Wednesday to see how the results compare to the national poll.

— Steve Patterson

]]>http://www.urbanreviewstl.com/2015/07/sunday-poll-what-should-qualify-as-a-disability/feed/8Parking Conflict Resolvedhttp://www.urbanreviewstl.com/2015/07/parking-conflict-resolved/
http://www.urbanreviewstl.com/2015/07/parking-conflict-resolved/#commentsFri, 24 Jul 2015 10:45:57 +0000http://www.urbanreviewstl.com/?p=39391A year ago the police were called to a parking dispute at our condo association. The issue was a fight between residents and the tenant of one commercial space, see Parking Battle Close To Home.

View from my balcony on Friday July 25th, 2014.

A couple of months ago everything was resolved — much better than anyone could’ve predicted. It did require legal action. The original developer, the now-defunct Loftworks, was seriously delinquent on condo dues for the two commercial spaces and a few residential units. After years of negotiations and missed payment plans, our board had enough and for a foreclosure sale. They were mortgaged for more than their value, but our board then began negotiating with the bank(s).

The best part is the commercial tenant in my building, Stealth Creative, was able to purchase their space. Every parking spot on the lot between the two buildings has been assigned to a commercial space. So just like our residential spaces, both commercial spaces now have assigned parking. While the other commercial space is vacant and for sale, those parking spaces are leased to residents seeking a 2nd parking space.

As I mentioned a year ago, I think my neighbors and the employees are too auto dependent. Hopefully having a fixed number of parking spaces will help change that attitude. I also want to make the case to Enterprise that their CarShare service needs vehicles West of 11th Street. They’re waiting for more members, we’re waiting for the service before joining.

— Steve Patterson

]]>http://www.urbanreviewstl.com/2015/07/parking-conflict-resolved/feed/2Reading: Parking Management for Smart Growth by Richard W. Willsonhttp://www.urbanreviewstl.com/2015/07/reading-parking-management-for-smart-growth-by-richard-w-willson/
http://www.urbanreviewstl.com/2015/07/reading-parking-management-for-smart-growth-by-richard-w-willson/#commentsThu, 23 Jul 2015 10:45:51 +0000http://www.urbanreviewstl.com/?p=39437Parking management is a popular topic, I have numerous books on the subject. Now I have one more: Parking Management for Smart Growth by Richard W. Willson:

The average parking space requires approximately 300 square feet of asphalt. That’s the size of a studio apartment in New York or enough room to hold 10 bicycles. Space devoted to parking in growing urban and suburban areas is highly contested—not only from other uses from housing to parklets, but between drivers who feel entitled to easy access. Without parking management, parking is a free-for-all—a competitive sport—with arbitrary winners and losers. Historically drivers have been the overall winners in having free or low-cost parking, while an oversupply of parking has created a hostile environment for pedestrians.

In the last 50 years, parking management has grown from a minor aspect of local policy and regulation to a central position in the provision of transportation access. The higher densities, tight land supplies, mixed land uses, environmental and social concerns, and alternative transportation modes of Smart Growth demand a different approach—actively managed parking.

This book offers a set of tools and a method for strategic parking management so that communities can better use parking resources and avoid overbuilding parking. It explores new opportunities for making the most from every parking space in a sharing economy and taking advantage of new digital parking tools to increase user interaction and satisfaction. Examples are provided of successful approaches for parking management—from Pasadena to London. At its essence, the book provides a path forward for strategic parking management in a new era of tighter parking supplies.

The book, published by Island Press, is available in softcover & hardcover

To see the topics covered, here’s the contents:

Introduction: What is a Parking Space Worth?Parking as a Contested Space
Problems of Unmanaged Parking
Understanding Parking Behavior
Strategic Parking Management
Key Terms
Map of the Book

No surprise, but most who voted in the Sunday Poll favored an occupied building to replace a condemned parking garage downtown:

Q: The parking garage at Tucker & Locust, built in 1967, was condemned a few months ago. What should be the long-term outcome? (PICK UP TO 2)

Raze for new building w/zero parking 22 [34.92%]

Raze for new building w/some parking 21 [33.33%]

Renovation of structure, reopen garage 6 [9.52%]

Raze for new parking garage 5 [7.94%]

Unsure/no opinion 3 [4.76%]

Other: 3 [4.76%]

Apartments, parking, ground level retail.

Restaurant

Traditional incremental urbanism

Raze for surface parking lot 2 [3.17%]

Nothing, leave as is 1 [1.59%]

Raze for open space 0 [0%]

I was very happy nobody voted for “Raze for open space”, because we’ve got more open space than we need. I have to wonder about the person who voted that leaving a condemned parking garage is the best long-term outcome. Really!?!

Even in the short-term I’d oppose a surface parking lot. If built properly, it would likely stick around until fully depreciated — which isn’t short-term. We need to build on many of our existing surface lots to reduce holes in our urban fabric. A case could be made for a new parking garage on the site. At this point I’d give little chance the existing garage will be renovated — the repairs are just too costly.Without a doubt, a new building, with or without internal parking, is ideal.

The New Jersey-based entity that owns the condemned garage likely doesn’t care about what’s best for creating a more urban St. Louis, but I don’t care about their bottom line! In the Downtown Neighborhood Association’s Planning & Zoning Committee I’ll advocate for a position on this site that opposes just letting it sit or a surface parking lot, supports a building.